Tentative deal reached between Manafort and special counsel: Sources

Source: ABC

Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has tentatively agreed to a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller that will head off his upcoming trial, sources familiar with the negotiations tell ABC News.

The deal is expected to be announced in court Friday, but it remains unclear whether Manafort has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors or is simply conceding to a guilty plea, which would allow him to avoid the stress and expense of trial, according to three sources with knowledge of the discussions.

34. Is that guy in the background a DUer?

6. The ABC article does not address whether Manafort has agreed to cooperate with Mueller

So far the version of the ABC article is silent on whether Manafort has agreed to cooperate with Mueller. This was evidently the big sticking point earlier. If there is no agreement to cooperate, then it is clear that Manafort is counting on a pardon

18. Does he weigh the same as a duck?

35. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

17:03
- Crowd: A witch! A witch! A witch! We found a witch! We've got a witch! A witch! A witch! We have found a witch. May we burn her?
- How do you know she is a witch
- She looks like one.
- Bring her forward.
- I'm not a witch! I'm not a witch !
- But you are dressed as one.
- They dressed me like this. - No, we didn't.
- And this isn't my nose. It's a false one.
- Well? - We did do the nose.
- The nose? - And the hat. But she is a witch !
- Did you dress her up like this? - No, no!
- Yes. A bit.
- She has got a wart.
- What makes you think she's a witch?
- She turned me into a newt!
- A newt?
- I got better.
- Burn her anyway!
- Quiet! Quiet!
- There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.
- Are there? What are they? Tell us. - Do they hurt?
- Tell me, what do you do with witches?
- Burn them!
- And what do you burn, apart from witches?
- More witches! - Wood!
- So why do witches burn?
- 'Cause they're made of wood? - Good!
- How do we tell if she is made of wood? - Build a bridge out of her.
- But can you not also make bridges out of stone?
- Oh, yeah.
- Does wood sink in water?
- No, it floats. - Throw her into the pond!
- What also floats in water?
- Bread. - Apples.
- Very small rocks. - Cider! Great gravy.
- Cherries. Mud. - Churches.
- Lead. - A duck!
- Exactly.
- So, logically--
- If she weighs the same as a duck...
- she's made of wood.
- And therefore?
- A witch!
- A duck! A duck! - Here's a duck.
- We shaIl use my largest scales.
- Burn the witch !
- Remove the supports!
- A witch!
- It's a fair cop.
- Who are you, who are so wise in the ways of science?
- I am Arthur, king of the Britons.

10. This will help Mueller's team have more time to deal with the other criminals in Trump orbit

11. Good

On to the next stage sooner, and no risk of hung juries to slow things down. Only takes one bozo juror to muddy up the works like last time. I'd say both sides got something here, and the action is in Trump Tower not tax evasion.

23. Sure looks that way.

30. Why would Manafort agree to a plea then?

He could just go into court and plead guilty. He doesn't have to cut any deal to do that. He just takes his sentence and waits for a pardon that may or may not come. If he's pardoned, he'll have to testify before a federal grand jury and he'll still be subject to state prosecution.

If he cuts a deal including cooperation, he can probably get his jail time reduced and maybe the feds will step in and persuade VA/NY not to prosecute him for crimes committed in their states. Trump can still pardon him regardless.

In a series of texts reviewed by Business Insider that appear to have been sent by Andrea to her sister, Jessica, in March 2015, Andrea said their father had "no moral or legal compass."

"Don't fool yourself," Andrea wrote to her sister, according to the texts. "That money we have is blood money."

"You know he has killed people in Ukraine? Knowingly," she continued, according to the reviewed texts. "As a tactic to outrage the world and get focus on Ukraine. Remember when there were all those deaths taking place. A while back. About a year ago. Revolts and what not. Do you know whose strategy that was to cause that, to send those people out and get them slaughtered."

25. I agree. Trump will pardon him and he'll skate free.

28. Mueller could retry the 11 hung counts from the first trial...and

ManaFART would have to plead guilty to those as well or spend the time and $$$$ defending himself. Mueller could also file charges agains Mrs. ManaFART who no doubt is as crooked as he is. She signed false tax returns, loan documents, etc.

I don't think Mueller is coming out on the short end of the ManaFART stick by any means.